Saturday, November 2, 2013

Why Would our Kids Be Confused?


This week, the Archdiocese of St. Louis announced it would prohibit alcohol sales at events primarily catering to kids.  It seems that the adults on Lindell Boulevard want to stop sending messages to our kids that alcohol is required to have a good time.  As a Catholic and occasional beer connoisseur, I don’t have a problem with the new rule. 
At the same time, Missouri and New York are among the states that have been targeted to be the next to legalize certain uses of marijuana.  Also this week, New York City announced that it wants to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21, as they apparently want to discourage young people from smoking. 
Did I get that right?  New York wants to raise the age to use tobacco, at the same time their adults are considering legalization of marijuana?  Do these same adults know that you have to SMOKE marijuana to get it into your system?
With the St. Louis area in the grips of four-year heroin epidemic, I’ve learned a lot from those caught up with this addiction.  Most start with tobacco, then alcohol, then marijuana, then opiate prescription medicine abuse, then heroin, then death for those that don’t break the downhill spiral.  I’m not saying that everyone that uses tobacco, alcohol and marijuana eventually turns to heroin.  What I am saying is that nearly every heroin addict I’ve met went down this path.
By the way, I don’t claim to know what the answer is.  However, I’m fairly certain that young people don’t know exactly what we adults are trying to teach them.

2 comments:

  1. I am glad to see someone who sees it from my perspective. I have taught DARE for some time now and it still amazes me that adults say one thing and do something different in front of their kids. I was saddened by the comment that one adult made that without the beer, the parents will not stay after the games to talk. No more after game chit chat. Really?? You can't talk to each other with out a beer in your hand. You still have to drive your children home. I comment the Archdiocese for their stance on this. As far as the tobacco and marijuana issue----not enough room for all of those comments.
    Enjoy your kids games---they don't stay kids very long any more.

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  2. Might I suggest we admit to our kids that decades of prohibition has been a dismal failure and drained resources that could and should be used instead for education and treatment? America's youth haven't bought into "reefer madness" propaganda for generations, and for good reason. Most of it is garbage, not supported by facts and stats. Teach them that addiction to anything, video games, the Internet, tobacco, alcohol, prescription drugs, cocaine, heroine, porn, gambling, and even high fructose corn syrup, can be debilitating and ruin their lives. Teach them that we're all susceptible to addiction and to do all things in moderation and make smart choices. We can't ban everything somebody could become addicted to or anything that might lead to addictive behavior. Prohibition didn't work with alcohol in the 1920's and it hasn't worked since.

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